Improvement in the manufacture of iron and steel



To 'all whom-uitweg concemi i'eierencebein ings i. A

'f- In carrying in to practical operation the manufacture of malleableironvuiid steel by forcing steel forms the subject ofrmyjpresent invention.

These improveineutsfmay thus lic' generally-'- descrbed:rst, heatin-gzjor'hmelting pigiron horizontal section on the line -f UNITE-1 Hin BEssniinn, or tosnosfiisditsn.

Specification forming part ofl'nettens I a-tent Ko. 459,0 5" 2, dntcd J nly 25, 1865'.` v

Beit kno/wn that I, HENRY BEssEtiEn, of

Queen Street. Place, New Cannon Street, in the city of Loiidomin the Kingdom of GreatBritai ti,ha.ve ,invented certain new and useful Imvprovements in the Manufacture of Iron and Steel; and Il do' hereby declare. the following tol'ie a full and exact description of the saine,

g had to tbe accompanying drawatmosphericjair di' steam into and *among* the l particles of iiuid crude iron, for which patents 'in the United States have already-been granted to in'e, I have discovered that certain 4 modifications o f 'and'atlditions'to the apparatus' andl prossthcrein described` may be advantageously used, and the adaptation of which im pro'veinents to-the manufacture of iron and -or-other metals in -asuit-able"furnace by the beati given on' in the, process-ot',converting crudeiluid iron into malleableiron or steel by- Afstreains ot' air or steam se cond, valloyiiig iron or steel withV other metals by'mising said al loys'with iron or steel during `.the proccssof' said coiiyersion from crude Huidironfthii'd;

:blowing powdered metals, fallt'iys, or :fluxes into molten iron by=meaiisof1tlie currents of air or steam used to decarb'oiiizje' thcsaid inol ten iron. l

- To enable others f skilled: iii the art "tb-incre fullyunderstand and construct and use myin! v ventio'n, I have hereto annexed a sheetofdraw-V ings on whichl the saine is.represented,and a. more, complete descriptionofthe process.-

-' line A B of Fig. 3.

` The o uter cylindrical shell or \'e'ssel,a, is made of .iron plates riveted to the bottom; plate,

a, which rests on'the brick foundation b.

Making ajoin't between two parts ot' a 'con-fl Y' vesting-vessel -above the level ot' the charge ofuid metal, as shown on the line k k of Fig'. 3,

Patent; butjlfliai'e claimed the vessel in another applicati'oii.= f

The'vessel islined with lire-bricks c, wliic I prefer to make ot a segmental forni, so, as to facilitate the relin'ing 'ot' the vessel-when necessary; fire-stone may, however, be used in Vlieu thereof, and in eith'n case the lining may be protected from the a Ition o ttlie heat and fluid materials by a coatilg ofloain, sand', or such other matters as are generally employed-.to

line uptht'iinteri'or' of furnaces.

- By reference to Figs. Z aiid it willbeobserved that the lining c is brouglit'over so as to Vformy an arch or dome, leavinggthe throat 'or .passage d to form a communication between y the convcrtingcham 'er e andthe hent-ingor vv melting chamber j; th V'oriii of which chamber fmay be greatly vari d.- ln the drawings the 'ioorjof this cliambe fis' 's`lioi\'ii to be sloped downward to the cen er, in lorder'to facilitate the running of any uid iron that may be remelted vthere the rent heat of. the converting processor be th o'wi'i from the convertingvv chamber below by the upward current of-ilaine and gases. 1Iii tbrming the .bottom of this or a. like. second chamber oi a convertingfressel provision may bc made to* retain anyinetal which may beinelted therein from yflowing:

'into .the con 4verting-vessel,below tillsnch tiuid -metal is tapped and, allowed to ilow through asuitable opening or 'openings previously kept closed By thus combining asecondfcoin part nient-with ay converting' vessel or apparatus the great. heat evolved by the-converting process `(when i'iofuelis used) willbe most beneficially einployedlin heating andinelting tlieinetal pnt into such heating-chamber,and theheat pro duced vin thispeculiar converting; process will be' economzed andadvantageonsly employed.

: The chamber fis covered by the crown C2, aiidis provided with-anopening on one side Ifor tbe introduction offingot endsV or other fwastfe or scrap metal, and is closed, whendc- .sired, by the doorrg, which consists of an iron frame'having'a iire-tile`ffitted-therein and proi gyided with *hinges 7i. The chambcrf has ant other' 'openingy-to which is fitted a dampen platei, hung on horizontal 'hinges,tlie mouth @of the opening projecting forward more at the lowerpartl` than'aboy-"egso 'that vthe damper-f 'plate' may lie againstit `after l,the'manner cfa clank-valve.l

.I do notpclaiu'i in this application for. Lettersl such division ot' l The plate 4iJuny"heniade ot' iron;- but I pre.- l

n een the vessel a workman will put into the upper .chamber the quantity of bar ends, in got ends, or

other metal orc'ast or wrought iron in any form intended tobemixed withthecharge. Heshould place these pieces so as to be acted upon by the heat and flame issuing -lroni the .throatof the vessel. Toward the close of: the `op`eration, and after the metal has attaineda very'lngh' temperature, the workman will. openthe door ofuthe upperchamber, and with a hokltoolhe willbriug the pieces of iron or steel orerthe throat of t-he lofwer chamber, into which they.

A will fall, and be there rapidly melted andmixe with the remainder of theeharge and bacon vertedV into malleable iron or steel,- a'nd' may f ingots in the manner before thenbe cast into described. In the conversion of plate i, which, however, serves t'o prevent the sists in retaining'the necessarily high temperature ot' the contents of the vessel. Should,

however, an aecumulation'of hardened scora j at any tme'obstruct the egress of llame from" beneath the damper-plate, the opening must he cleared rod. I

"ln thctreattnent of ditteren't irons by the process of forcing atmospheric or other oxygen therein, it will be found advantageous in ,some

casesto use such lluxes as will best act upon the dill'erent bases associatedwith the iron.l ln this way-small quantities of lime, silica, or

alumina may be addedwith advantage; and so in` like manner chloride of sodium, iron scales,

-oxide ot' manganese, and other'salts or fluxes may he used to assist in the separation of the l. impurities contained in the crude'- metal, as have before been used for like purposes, and

the application of the saine is not claimed by me under the presentLetters Batent. '.lhesc fluxes, or any of them that it may he found necessary to use when treating iron in my im.-

proved appaatus,1nay be introduced into the inetal'lin lthe forni of powder at the tu'yeres by allowing suchpowders to fall from a close vessel gradually in t-o the blast-pipes, so that they Y he blown in with currents of air or steam, and

be thus made to act direct upon thefluidmetal; i

or, in lieu ofthis modeot'introduciugthe fluxes, they may be put in at the feedingfdoor and be allowed to -fall Vthrough-the'opening d beforeor duringthe continuation ot' the process; and, further, when-it is desired to make any alloy vof'zinc, copper, silver, or other metals with iron or steel, 4 I put such metals, ina luid or solidl state, o'rasfsalts or oxides, intothe chamber or vesseli'eefore described,-where their mixture with the molten iron-'or steel will be greatly fa'- cihtated by the violent agitation which ispro- .duced by the forcing ,in of the air. orsteam, and

which -continucs during tho discharge of thev crude into malleable metal h'y forcing air o r steamtherein, a portion of the fluid scoria'formed' in the process ischnried upward with the gaseous matters andv llameaud isexpelled from beneath Athedam-periv by a workman using a suitable iron- 'too easy egress of these matters, and ih usas metal from the vessel, so that no time is alylowed for subsidence or separation ot' the alloy should the chemical allinities ot' the metals for each other be so weak as to have u. tendency to separate' when lett in a state ot repose.

"'Whengemplcying [luid metal' for alloyng 'with malleable iron or steel, I'pour it through en -.opening in the comjerting-vessel, so that itmay fallvldirect into the' fluid .mass below; but' whcu'employiug metal in a.; solid t'orm, I putit. into the upper chamber through the 'door g andallow itvto acquire 'a high temperature,

after-.which it may he pushed with a rod through the opening@ into fluid iron or steel 'andw'hen v using salts or oxides of metals for the-purpose of producing an alloy or mixture with the ir'on or. steel, I prefer to -introduce suchsalts or ox- 'ities' in the forni of powder at the tuyeres', or to' put themv into the vessel previous to running in the tluid metal.

I would observe that I am aware that zinc.,`

copper, silver, and othervnetals havolbetore -been combined wit-h' iron, and steel otherwise4 xmanut'actureil. Ij therefore make no general claim thereto.

As soon 'as the metal has arrived at the condition which the workman judges suitable for hi's purpose, he will proceed to tap the furnace and discharge the metal therefrom and forni it into -in gots orother castings.

Inf the process ot' making malleable iron and steel by the forcing otoxygen into the .luid

metal, I- have found that the heat evolved may be zul-vantagcously appliedto the remelting of pi giron lby the means already described,'or by allowing such waste 'hea'tto enter a reverberatory arch-or chamber builtin immedatecon nection with'the converting-vessel,- 4in which j' arch the pigs ot'iron'may be-soplaeed as to be exposed 'to t-he'full 'action of the heatedma-t ters which escape from the converting-vessel.

The iron so melted may be afterward rendered.

malleable by r'unningit into 4the convertingvessel and there forciugiuto it'curren ts of gascous oxygen, as before described, so that'. the .waste heat .of one converting operation may be made available-forthc remelting of the-,crude iron requiredfor the next; or the waste heat ma y be applied to a 'suitably-constructed boiler for the purpose of generating steam to be used A representsa mass ot' brick-workj'inclosed within or strapped together with iron. At one end is formed the converting-vessel B, 'having' an arched roof', so made as to reverherate the flame and' heated.' gases ontcth'e hearth of the melting-chamber C, `The converting-chamber l '1sprovided 4with 4t tty cresl-l) in the. lusual way,

and with proper openings for-the reception of v 4chamber O may he run lofi' at the opening G,

and may be converted into iron or steel without the use of the fuel that, would otherwise have been required for `the purpose of melting themetaL I do not necessarily confine myself tothe 4precise arrangement ot'pnrts herein shown, 'and details'not herein laid down vmay be carried out in any manner known vto the art, and which may be found applicable to my inventif'm.

Y Having thns described myinventiorn'tlie following iswhat I4 claim n's new therein and desirejtosecure bv Letters Patent- 1., The use o f the double ohamhers,sunscau` tially as descrioed, for treating iron, or alloys,

or nxes, for the purposes specified.

2. Heating or melting pig-iron or other metals in n rc\ 'erberatory furnace 'or 'other suitable vessel by the heat given oft' when streams or jets of air or stenm'l are forced through fluid crude iron in the process of converting'such iuid crndeiron into mnlleableiron or steel, substnutia'lly ns described. l

3. Alloyng iron' or steel with other metal by mixing' such other metals with the ironor steel during the process of converting said iro'n or steel froncrude iron by currents of `air o r steam. l A,

4. Blowing powdered metals, or oxides of metals, or alloysorluxes, into molten iron by means of the currents offair or steam 'used to' .decarbonize the said-molten iron, substantially iu the manner described.

' HENRY" BEssEMER.

Witnesses:

A. L. HOLLY, DnVD. LoNGsDoN. 

